


Halloween parties are definitely (not) the worst

by QueenC



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: ChalexHalloweenSpecial2020, College, Drinking, First Meetings, Frat Parties, Halloween Costumes, M/M, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27246142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenC/pseuds/QueenC
Summary: Alex isn't fond of parties. Everyone who knows him knows this. If you join 'frat' to the concept of 'parties', things just escalate to the worse possible level. But he lost a bet to Jessica and suddenly there he is, at a Halloween frat party, of all places.When he unexpectedly meets a cute guy, who happens to be dressed as one of his favorite horror movie characters that no one else seems to know, Alex might be willing to admit Halloween parties aren't so bad after all.
Relationships: Charlie St. George/Alex Standall
Comments: 12
Kudos: 221
Collections: Chalex Halloween Special 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I wanted to have this out yesterday but alas, what even is time. I had this idea of a meet-cute at a party in my head for a while now, and it seemed to fit well with the take on Halloween costumes I wanted to write for this week, so here's the result! Hope you all enjoy, it's been really fun to write this story.

Alex hated parties. Of all kinds. This came as no surprise to anyone who knew him the bare minimum, and he was proud to say he didn't bother trying to hide his dislike for social gatherings from anyone.

As he now sat alone at a worn leather couch with a red cup squeezed tightly in his hand, side-eyeing a couple that dangled dangerously by the armrest, threatening to fall on top of him with every enthusiastic kiss they shared — well, in these very specific settings, Alex had to sit back and rethink his life choices for a moment.

(Only figuratively, though. Someone had spilled beer over the couch's back, and it still dripped slowly but steadily close to where Alex was, cursing his bad luck while perched at the edge of the seat. He cursed his friends and his recent decisions and his poor choice of liquor, too. The punch he was currently holding tasted disgusting. Alex was in his third cup nonetheless.)

When Zach had invited him to a Halloween frat party one of his teammates had tipped him about, Alex delivered him his usual trademark eye-roll and a mighty snort. Like Zach didn't fucking know him after all their years of friendship. Zach was game to let it slide, though, and that should have been it, that's how it was supposed to have happened.

But unfortunately for Alex, Zach had posed the invitation over one of their weekly get-togethers — this time at a sushi place near campus —, which meant Jessica was around not only to be invited as well, but also not to take Alex's _yeah, I'll pass_ seriously.

“It's a whole new world, Alex!” She insisted, staring at his friend in disbelief. “Look, I get it — you didn't like parties back when we were still at school. It's fine, to be honest after a while they weren't my scene either. But we're at college now-- new people! New experiences!” Said Jess, waving her hands enthusiastically to emphasize her point. “Not to mention this is the first really big party of this term, and it'll wrap up the Halloweek events on campus. Are you sure you don't wanna give it a try?”

“Are you sure you're even asking me that?” Alex arched his eyebrows, mirroring the disbelieving look on Jessica's face, although for completely different reasons. “Jess, it's still a party. I couldn't care less if it's a high school party or a college one. Loud music and drunk people are the same no matter the settings.”

“I already expected that to be your answer, actually,” said Zach, fixing Alex with an amused gaze, “but it's never too much to ask, so I guessed why not.”

“Well, thanks, Zach, I'm flattered you thought of me,” replied Alex, no entirely sarcastic — but not entirely grateful either. “But it's a hard pass, I'm afraid.”

“It's fine,” said Zach good-naturedly. “You can make up to me by letting me crash in your dorm after the party. If I don't get lucky, that is. My roommate's a nightmare, he locked me out of our dorm just last week, can you guys believe it?”

Alex chuckled, and he was about to reply with an “Ok, deal,” when Jessica shook her head vehemently, waving her chopsticks at Alex accusingly. 

“No fucking way. I'm not taking no for an answer,” she declared. “Zach's too soft on you, but then again, what's new.”

“Hey, what was that for,” frowned Zach, looking offended. Jess only threw him a side-eye glance and a tilt of her head as an apology before soldiering on.

“I'll make you a deal,” she started, eyes intent on Alex. “I'll help you with all these assignments and papers you've been complaining about like an old man, and if by next week you're done with them, you're coming to the party with us,” Jessica challenged. 

“You can't be serious,” Alex actually laughed this time, shaking his head. “You have a shit ton of things to do yourself, Jess. You don't have the time to help me out just to make me go to a party, don't be ridiculous.”

“I can't take care of my shit,” insisted Jess. 

“You were just telling us how many hours of sleep you'll have to lose this week,” remembered Zach. “Because you actually counted them all already.”

“For fuck's sake, who's side are you on here?” Chastised Jess, throwing Zach an annoyed look. Zach snorted a laugh and shook his head, amused, returning his attention to his tempura. 

“Fine,” said Alex, accepting the challenge. “If you get everything you have pending done _and_ help me out with all of my school stuff, then you can count on my presence for this stupid party. These are my terms.”

Jess turned her squinting glare to him, and Alex was thrown off for a second, unused for a while now to have Jessica fixing him with her deathly glare. 

“Deal,” she said, much to Alex's and Zach's surprise, “but you'll have to let me pick your costume for the party if that's the case.”

Alex snorted, rolling his eyes in exasperation. “Whatever, Jess. Have it your way.”

“Can I help with choosing the costume?” Asked Zach, interested. 

Jess shook her head dismissively. “No, you're a traitor. You were ready to let him off the hook too easily,” she informed, her brown eyes focused on Alex. “So what do you say? Do we have a deal?”

Alex shrugged, a half-smirk resting on his lips. “Of course. Deal.”

And now, as Alex miserably watched the swarm of bodies around him in the dimly-lit room, annoying pop music blasting from the speakers in the upper corner, he had to admit to himself he'd underestimated the single-minded determination of one Jessica Davis. Honestly, he should have known better. Considering how long he and Jessica were friends, Alex wasn't supposed to let himself get fooled into believing she couldn't pull it off — all the while scolding at Alex if he tried to stall on his papers on purpose only to derail her plans. As the week passed, all their assignments were done and submitted even before due time, a novelty in his life, and once Saturday loomed menacingly on the horizon, Alex was forced to give in and embrace his destiny. He would be going to a Halloween frat party. There was no way he could back down from it with his dignity intact. 

(It's not like Alex cared much about his dignity at this point. But Zach had been present for the whole thing, and he knew his friend would never let him live it down if he decided to completely ignore his agreement with Jess. Alex could put up with a lot of things but Zach Dempsey giving him a hard time wasn't particularly something he longed to include in his near future. He'd been there before, and he would prefer not to ever be there again.)

So all in all, in retrospect, Alex thought he had learned a few lessons this week. Those being 1) never doubt Jessica's dedication to having the last word (she'd neared the end of the week with very visible dark circles under her eyes from how little she'd slept but she was _committed_ to going to this party. Alex had never seen her apply such a huge amount of concealer while doing her makeup before), and 2) he should cut off his friendship with Zach entirely. As soon as possible. 

It felt a little too drastic, he could tell, but to be frank, as Alex adjusted his unicorn tiara to prevent it from falling to his forehead as it had already happened at least a million other times before, he thought some sacrifices had to be made so he could keep his sanity intact. Cutting off his jock friend from his life seemed only sensible if this could prevent himself from being bullied into any frat parties ever again. Yeah, this was a price Alex was willing to pay. 

(He wasn't, though, not really. But this was especially hard to keep in mind as he remembered Zach's delighted laugh as he watched Alex begrudgingly allowing Jess to apply glitter and little stars on his cheekbones. They matched the saying in his flashy light blue onesie, which read _Sparkle like a unicorn_ in rainbow-colored letters. His onesie, by the way, had _wings_ (and a tail, but that at least made sense, he figured). There were shiny, medium-sized golden wings sprouting from his shoulder blades, and Alex didn't know what to make of them. His knowledge of magical creatures was rusty at best but he was sure unicorns weren't supposed to have wings. He tried to point this out to Jess but her only reply was to place one giant white-and-pink pointy horn at the top of his head. It felt very final. There wasn't much left to discuss after this.) 

Jess could have gone dirtier on him if she wanted, Alex knew that, but this didn't make him enjoy the horn or the wings any more. He had to draw the line at the flimsy pink tutu that composed the costume, though. Alex stared Jess dead in the eye as he venomously enunciated his 'hell no', and something on his voice, or his stance, or the fact that he could look menacing even while dressed head to toe in glitter and soft colors, made Jess reconsider and allow Alex to skip the tutu.

In a surprising turn of events, Luke Holliday, Zach's new friend from the football team, had taken one look at the tutu and positively beamed as he dropped by to give them all a ride to the party. He claimed the fucking tutu for himself — Alex didn't make much of an effort to stop him — and ended up quite a vision: half scary Dracula, with his upper body drenched in fake blood, and half whatever the hell that was, wrapped inside a pink tutu that didn't really fit his body. It laid tight around his waist when it actually should have been low on his hips. But Luke didn't seem to care. He was one of those die-hard 'I love Halloween' guys. In his own words, he wanted to make this 'a night to remember' and if in his book that meant walking around like a fusion of Dracula and Cursed Pony, so be it. Alex wouldn't chastise him for that. It was relieving that someone was truly enjoying this night. 

Jessica still seemed to be forcing herself to have fun at college at all costs, and Zach was trying to carve his way into the frat scene without having to resort to drinking. Everything just contributed to lessening the holiday spirit for Alex. As he absently scratched some of the glitter off his face, he came to the conclusion they really were a group of misfits. They were so in high school, and they were still the same here, at college. Jess could say everything she wanted about new people and new experiences — nothing that Alex was seeing here tonight gave him the impression that the small age gap from high-school to college had changed these people around him in any way. 

The couple that was making out at the other end of the couch finally toppled over, hands all over each other, knocking Alex's half cup of punch from his hands — and ok, that was about it. He'd fucking had it with these people, and this music, and the lights, and this whole fucking party. He got up to his feet, holding his tiara in place as he made his way to the kitchen, where Jessica had headed in search of drinks the last time he'd seen her. 

But he didn't get that far — as soon as he had put a safe distance between himself and the horny couple, a tall, broad figure stepped into his way, Alex almost bumping into him with the momentum of his escape. He blinked, recognizing the tutu first. Luke's huge smile greeted him when he looked up. There was now an ugly plush monkey perched on his shoulder, and Alex recognized it as part of Zach's costume. Luke had tried to grab hold of his pirate hat while they were still on their way, but Zach had been pretty adamant about keeping the integrity of his costume. He seemed to have compromised (or just given into Luke's prodding) at some point.

“Hey, man, have you seen Zach?” He asked, voice thundering to be heard above the music. “We're kinda having a game in the kitchen, and I'd like to hear his saying on the matter.”

Alex shook his head. “Last time I saw him, he was chatting up this girl in a Catwoman costume. Guess we know where that was headed.”

“I guess we do,” snorted Luke, amused. “Well, you could also take a chance into our bet, if you'd like? I need as many people's inputs as I can take.”

“No, thank you,” replied Alex, firmly. He was so done with bets, possibly for the rest of his life. “I was just about to leave, actually. Could you tell Jess I'm off to my dorms if you see her?”

“You leaving already?” Luke asked, shocked. He shook his head, throwing one heavy arm around Alex and nudging him forward as he spoke. “No way, man, it's too early to go home! The fun's just getting started--”

“I feel like I missed this memo somehow,” grumbled Alex, following Luke's lead mostly because he didn't feel like he had a choice, dwarfed as he was under his one-armed hug.

“-- and also,” continued Luke, ignoring Alex's complaints (or most likely, not hearing them above the noise), “your friend Jessica's here with us. You can deliver the message yourself if you really feel like leaving.”

“Great,” sighed Alex as they entered the kitchen. The smaller room shone warmly in comparison to the dimly-lit living room with all the strobe lights that made Alex feel a constant heaviness in his head. 

There went his chance of smoothly sneaking away without reporting back to Jess. She sat at the kitchen island, looking very pretty in her rendition of Beyoncé's iconic yellow Coachella look, in her own words. She was laughing as she sipped from a large red cup, and the least Alex could say was that she actually seemed to be having fun. It was still surprising to him that Jessica wasn't snoring on top of the marble surface, though. Alex was yet again impressed at how his friend managed to do stuff counting on the sheer force of her stubbornness alone. 

“What the hell do you mean, you're leaving?” She protested loudly as soon as Alex announced his intentions to her. Jessica's voice was one or two tones too high, and from the glow on her face and eyes, Alex could tell she was quite ahead of him in the path to getting drunk. “That wasn't our deal! _Our deal_ said you got to come to the party, and stay at the party.”

“Jess, for fuck's sake,” sighed Alex tiredly. “I came, and I stayed for a couple hours, what else do you want?” He huffed out, annoyed, gesturing to his back. His wings swayed cheerfully, shining under the light. “I have cheap beer sticking to my back while I'm dressed like a gay Pegasus. I think enough is enough.”

“Shut the fuck up, I need you to stay,” Jessica grabbed his wrist urgently, leaning closer, her voice coming out in a hushed whisper. She threw a glance over her shoulder before adding, “There's this guy that I want to--”

“You need to chill out, bro,” said apparently such guy, with whom Jessica had been engrossed in conversation right before Alex arrived. “Here, take this,” he offered Alex a red cup amicably. “You need to get drunk. That'll make you loosen up a bit.”

Alex was so thrown off by this stranger's intrusion that he accepted the cup that was handed to him more out of shock than anything else. “I'm sorry, do I know you?”

“This is Diego,” announced Jess, placing one hand affectionately on the boy's forearm. “We were just discussing costumes before you arrived. Oh, by the way-- I was the one to pick Alex's.”

“Oh, really? You look good, man,” complimented Diego — and it was such a fucking lie because Alex himself could tell his current attire wasn't anything to be impressed by. Jess didn't have the time to choose his costume as carefully as she would've liked after working so hard all week, so she just improvised with an onesie. Alex stared at Diego, speechless, watching as the other boy turned a charming smile on Jessica. “You did an amazing job.”

They grinned at each other with their perfect white teeth, and their perfect skins glowed under the yellow light, and Alex just wanted to punch them both. He merely sighed instead, glancing at the closest bottle of vodka and grabbing hold of it. He didn't know about Diego's advice on loosening up but he sure as hell would need some more alcohol in his blood if he was to put up with third-wheeling for Jess and this guy for the rest of the night.

Alex barely had the time to finish filling up his cup when a hand clasped firmly around his shoulder. “I see you're sticking around-- good for you, man!” Luke's cheerful voice roared from behind him. “So, you're up for that guessing game I was telling you about? You only have one shot, though. No second chances allowed.”

Alex put the bottle back on the counter as carefully as he could with Luke restraining his movements as he was. “I'm not sure exactly what I'm getting into?” He questioned, warily.

“It's easy,” reassured Luke. “You'll take one look at a friend of mine and try to guess his costume. Don't think much, just-- say whatever comes to your mind first.”

“Um-- okay,” Alex frowned but shrugged in agreement. Out of all things, Luke's request was the simplest thing he'd had to handle so far. 

“Yo, Charlie!” Shouted Luke over the heads of everyone in the kitchen. “Come over here, man, time for one more round!”

Alex felt the slightest bit sorry for this Charlie guy. By the way Luke made it sound, it seemed like this wasn't the first time he had to go through this. Whatever Charlie was wearing, it had to be really bad for such a game to take place. Well, Alex could relate to bad costumes, he thought, trying one sip of his flavored vodka. 

Much to his surprise, though, when the guy he assumed could only be Charlie approached them, a weary, long-suffering expression on his artistically black-stained face, Alex knew exactly who he was meant to be. His hair was styled to look messy, and he wore a black overall with a dirtied long-sleeved shirt underneath. A bluish mask hung around his neck, unused, and he held a plastic scythe in one of his hands. Sure, his mask didn't look perfect (but then again, neither did the movie's character), and you could tell his costume was probably borrowed from his friends' wardrobes, considering how the overall was a bit too large for him, but still. Alex recognized him easily, and he was failing to understand what the whole fuss was about. 

“Wait, him?” Alex asked incredulously, wondering if he was drunker than he imagined. He frowned. This wasn't supposed to be easy, was it?

“Yeah, come on, give me your best!” Said Luke with a huge grin, his amused expression focused on his friend's face. 

“Luke, I swear to God," Charlie let out yet another heavy sigh. "You said last time was the last time!” He protested indignantly. 

“I know, man, just this once more, and I promise I'll leave you be,” vowed Luke. 

“This is totally on you, St. George, for picking up a costume nobody fucking gets. You set yourself up for this,” informed Diego, one arm wrapped around Jess's shoulders, and wait, when had that happened? 

“Yeah... I thought I had messed up on Alex's but you just managed to top it, Charlie,” agreed Jess, seemingly comfortable in Diego's embrace.

“You guys are all amateurs,” proclaimed Charlie. “You can't appreciate a good horror mockumentary, which is why y'all don't get my costume.”

“Yeah, he's clearly Leslie Vernon, from _Behind The Mask_ ”, completed Alex in an obvious tone. 

A silence followed his statement, four heads turning in Alex's direction with different levels of surprise and befuddlement painted across their faces. Luke seemed to be having a mild stroke. Charlie, on the other hand, stared at Alex as if he'd never seen anything like him before. Alex shifted uncomfortably under the attention. He occupied himself with drinking more from his cup, vodka dribbling down his chin in his eagerness to get his hands busy. 

“Yeah! That's exactly who I'm supposed to be!” Charlie shouted excitedly, turning in his heels to look at Luke with a triumphant expression on his face. “I told you I wasn't making this character up!”

“Well, that was unexpected,” deadpanned Diego, his face quickly changing to amusement once his eyes laid on Luke. “Yo, man, you gotta breathe!”

“Alex, I think you broke him,” said Jess in a mocking tone. She crumpled one paper napkin in her hand and flicked it at Luke, grinning. “Seems like you were bested in your game.”

Luke was now staring at Alex, dumbfounded, looking him up and down as if just now really seeing him for the first time. “You're a menace,” he declared, looking stricken. “How did you know who Charlie was? No one got it right the whole night!”

“Well,” Alex waved a hand at Charlie, who still watched him gaping a little, a dazzled look on his face. “This is one of my favorite slasher movies, actually. I've watched it, like, about twelve times already or something.”

“I think you're my new favorite person in the world,” announced Charlie in a dreamy voice, startled out of his stupor by Alex's admission of undying love for _Behind The Mask_. He shoved a hand against Luke's chest, effectively pushing him out of his way so he could get to Alex, his eyes never leaving the shorter boy's face. “Hi. My name is Charlie.”

And Alex couldn't say for sure if it was the single focus with what Charlie was peering down at him, or his unapologetically fond declaration, or maybe the fact that he could tell, even under the black paint, that Charlie was quite eye-catching — Alex didn't know which of these was responsible for his cheeks burning, it was possible that a combination of all three. He was thankful, for the first time, for all the glitter Jessica had smeared over his face. 

“Yeah, I figured that much,” a small smile lifted the corner of Alex's lips, and he tipped his cup towards Charlie in a salute. “Hey. I'm Alex.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gimme your thoughts! Hope you guys liked this first part <3 I'll be posting the second chapter still during the Halloween Special week.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Better late than never, or at least it's what they say! I had planned to include this in the first chapter, but here it goes now: Alex's costume in this story looks [a bit like this](https://www.tipsyelves.com/mas_assets/cache/image/3/4/e/5/13541.Jpg) (golden wings included), and Charlie's is [something along these lines](https://pm1.narvii.com/5820/71cf0b35381f3038dd913bb1b6720be3c94e8f7d_hq.jpg). I am so sorry it took me so long to update this fic, you'll find some explanation about this in the end notes. Hope you still like this second part, late as it is!

Things got a little hazy after that. Alex blamed it on the vodka he was now holding on to dear life like an extension of his arm — but part of him believed it also had to do with his nerves responding to how interested Charlie seemed in him ever since discovering Alex's love for Leslie's movie. 

They had moved their conversation from the packed kitchen to the stairs, where they now sat close to each other on the first steps, earning a few glares from those who passed them by to get to the second floor looking for the restrooms — or the bedrooms, one can never know for sure. Alex sat with his back to the wall, red cup between his hands, knees close to his chest, staring at Charlie's lips moving excitedly around his words as he latched on a long rant about the entire genre of mockumentaries. He'd been at it for a few solid minutes now, and to be honest Alex was only half paying attention, but he was cool with letting Charlie open his heart and vent all he wanted about how injusticed _Behind The Mask_ was. Alex had been there, and he had done that — only with a less patient audience consisting of Jess and Zach, who were quick to change subjects whenever Alex tried to go for longer than two minutes. Plus, Charlie had a nice voice. Alex wouldn't mind listening to him talking all night, especially not about a subject he appreciated as well. 

“... I'm sorry, am I boring you?” Charlie asked at some point, and Alex snapped to attention at his question.

A half-smile appeared on his lips at the fact he was thinking just the opposite, and he shook his head. “No, it's actually nice to hear someone talk about this movie so enthusiastically. I had never met anyone who liked it before.”

“Clearly me neither,” Charlie chuckled, “as my friends being clueless about my costume are there to prove.”

“You did a good job on it, though,” said Alex, eyes traveling over Charlie's costume. He gestured vaguely towards Charlie with his cup before taking his drink to his lips. “The mask looks especially cool.”

“Thanks!” Beamed Charlie, fidgeting with the blue mask currently hanging from his neck. “A friend of mine helped me craft it. I gotta say it's pretty uncomfortable, though, especially over all this black paint,” he said with a faint grimace, pointing to his own face. “It gets hot and it itches. I had to ditch it about thirty minutes into this party.”

“A shame,” declared Alex. “But a bigger shame is that no one recognized who you were supposed to be dressed as. Some effort you put into it all-- you even got the scythe right.”

Charlie laughed, waving his plastic weapon playfully. “Well, you recognized it,” said Charlie with a soft smile. “I'll take that as a win.” His eyes lowered to Alex's unicorn costume and his smile turned into a grin. “Your costume is pretty cool too.”

“Jesus Christ, please _don't_ ,” protested Alex with a roll of his eyes. “Seriously, you don't need to say that. I'm trying to forget this travesty I'm currently wearing.”

“I'm sensing there's a story here?” Tried Charlie, curious. “I mean-- you seem pretty into horror movies, and I know stereotypes are old-fashioned and everything, but. This kind of cute costume just doesn't seem to fall in line with slasher fans.”

“I lost a bet,” informed Alex wrily. “To Jess. And she got to pick my costume for this party as her prize.” He let out a long-suffering sigh and downed the last sip of his vodka. “I think I've learned my lesson, though. I'm never betting against her again.”

“What did you guys bet on?” Asked Charlie with a laugh. 

“Stupid shit, school stuff,” Alex waved distractedly. “Thought I'd walk this one off like a champ, and instead I ended up submitting all my papers before the due date and being forced to come to a frat party. Dressed as a unicorn, of all things. “

“Wait, so you weren't coming before?” Charlie frowned.

“I definitely wasn't,” snorted Alex. “I'm not really one for parties.”

“I'm glad you lost this bet, then,” stated Charlie. “Where else would I find another _Behind The Mask_ fan?”

“Yeah, well,” conceded Alex with a smirk. “I guess now it's not going so bad. But I was just about to leave when Luke intercepted me to try to guess your costume, so. Seems we didn't miss each other by a close window.”

Charlie only smiled, eyes lingering on Alex's face for a moment before noticing his empty cup. “Do you want a refill?”

Alex hummed in thought, lifting his cup to eye level and considering Charlie's question. “I'm not sure,” he confessed. “I think so? Will you be joining me this time?”

“Nah, I don't think I will,” Charlie shook his head, laughing. “I can't drink today.”

“Why not?” Asked Alex with a frown. “Designated driver?”

“No, I promised my dad I wouldn't drink on the condition he let me come to this party,” said Charlie, sneaking one glance at Alex, oddly self-conscious. “I'm not at college yet.”

“What?” Alex just stared at him in wonder, a chuckle bubbling from his chest. “You're still at school?”

“There's no need to mock now,” protested Charlie. 

“I'm sorry, I'm not, I'm barely out of school too. It's just--” Alex shook his head in disbelief, full-on laughing now at Charlie's embarrassment. “The fact your dad knows you're here, and you both have an agreement going on-- who even does that? Isn't it easier to just sneak out with a fake excuse?”

“Oh, so that's what they mean when they warn us about the bad influences at college?” Mused Charlie thoughtfully. 

“I didn't mean it's what you should've done,” Alex rolled his eyes, amused, “though I do hear it's how it sounded. I was just asking. It's interesting that you got that level of trust going on with your folks. Most kids don't have.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” nodded Charlie, “but me and my dad have a good thing going. I don't want to ruin that by having him distrusting me right when I'm about to leave for college next year. So when Luke and Diego insisted for me to come to this party with them, I thought it best to lay out all the cards to my old man.”

“That's really sweet,” said Alex earnestly. Some part of him was aware he wasn't filtering things as well as his sober self would. It was hard to care, though. “You're planning to come here for college?”

“That's my first idea, yeah,” confirmed Charlie. “But I'll have to wait for scholarship offers to make up my mind.” At Alex's faint _huh_ , a smile sprouted on Charlie's lips. “What?”

“Wouldn't have pegged you for a jock, is all,” admitted Alex. “You seem, like. Not the type. From what I know of you, which I will admit it's not much at all.”

“I'm always glad to break some preconceptions,” quipped Charlie with a grin, “though I'm not clear if that qualifies as a compliment or not.”

“It does,” confirmed Alex distractedly. “It totally does.”

His eyes stayed on Charlie, and he could feel the younger boy's on him as well, just as interested, and he had to lower his gaze before things got too intense for him to process. He went for one more sip of vodka to occupy his hands and distract himself from the impulse of tangling his fingers into Charlie's hair — only to be remembered that his cup was empty. “Oh, shit. I'm out,” Alex announced, sounding utterly surprised.

“Would you like some more?” Asked Charlie, looking at him amused. 

Alex nodded and handed Charlie his cup, a _thank you_ escaping his lips as he watched the boy retreat to the kitchen. He watched him until he disappeared into the next room, and was he thinking Charlie was attractive or was this the vodka talking? Was he just glad to have found someone to talk to at this fucking party, or did he really want to kiss this boy? It was something to be considered in all seriousness. There would be a lot of black paint involved if Alex decided to follow that path. 

A chuckle escaped his lips when his mind entertained the idea, and it was hard to rein in his laughter after that. Fuck, he was drunk. He was drunk and thinking whether he should or not make out with Leslie's impersonator. This was gold. He would have to thank Jessica for dragging him to this party. 

(Sober Alex would probably think differently the next morning but that was fine. For now, Tipsy Alex was light and hazy and just so chill to enjoy this social gathering.)

However, when Charlie returned to him empty-handed and with a grave expression on his face, Alex's laugh quickly subdued into a frown. 

“So,” Charlie announced, standing in front of Alex at the bottom of the stairs, “we have a situation.”

_A situation_ turned out to be Jessica sleeping peacefully on the kitchen island, her head resting on her folded arms as if there wasn't a party going on full swing around her. Alex couldn't help but laugh at the sight. He had called this one as a possibility earlier. 

“Jesus,” he said amused, approaching his friend's snoring form with caution. He poked her gently on the shoulder. Jessica didn't even move. “How much did she drink?” 

“Not much, really,” said Diego, who still stood beside Jessica, looking his most surprised self. “I don't think, at least? We were talking and she just went like, 'okay, gimme a sec' and then--” He gestured at Jess's sleeping form at a loss. 

“She had a tough week, with a lot of all-nighters,” said Alex, in his friend's defense. “I'm surprised she lasted this long.”

“She needs to sleep it off for a bit,” said Charlie, worried eyes assessing Jessica before lifting to Luke. “Can you talk to one of your guys so we can take her to a bedroom?”

“Sure, I'll reach out to my contacts,” answered Luke, pulling his phone out from his Dracula costume with an important air to his features. “Guess with what's probably going on in some of these beds, having a girl sleeping her booze off won't be the worst they'll see today.”

It took surprisingly few minutes for Luke to get in touch with one of his frat buddies about the situation. Fortunately, the bedroom they would borrow was on the first floor. Diego and Charlie helped a knackered Jess from the kitchen to the bedroom, Alex trailing behind them slightly sobered up by this unexpected turn of events. 

“Thank you for arranging this,” Alex said to Luke. who watched from the door as his friends gracefully laid Jess on the bed. “I'll stay with her until she feels better.”

“I can stay with her,” offered Diego helpfully, “if you wanna go back and enjoy the rest of the party.”

“The hell you will,” scoffed Alex, possibly harsher than he intended. He backtracked, some reasonableness still left in him to add, “Sorry, it's just I don't really know you. At least not enough to leave my drunk best friend alone in a room with you.”

Diego's face turned stormy, eyebrows dipping low in his forehead and his jaw locking. “The fuck, man, what do you take me for?”

“I don't take you for anything,” answered Alex, eyebrows raised. “Literally neither good nor bad, I just met you for the first time, like, two hours ago.”

“I think what Alex is trying to say,” intervened Charlie, taking one step ahead to stay between his tipsy, testy companions, “is that he would prefer to keep company to Jessica himself. Which is only reasonable,” he added, eyes darting from Alex to Diego a couple of times, assessing their moods, “once he is her friend, and who she came to the party with.”

“Come on, Diego, I can hear what the boys are saying. It ain't about you,” said Luke, still watching everything unfold from his safe spot at the door. “You can talk to Jessica once she's up and sober again.”

Diego still looked rebellious and personally offended but he sighed, backing off and looking at Alex with intent eyes. “I would never do anything to her, man. But I get it. Just let me know when she wakes up.”

“Sure,” said Alex, unmoved. He could tell from Diego's face that he looked genuinely worried, and he really seemed to care for Jessica — but the problem usually resided on what the eyes couldn't see, didn't it. Bad guys didn't wear a tag on their foreheads. Diego could have all the chances he wanted with Jess, once she was conscious and sober again. “I'll give you a heads up.”

Diego nodded stiffly and took his clue to leave, storming out of the bedroom. Luke grimaced playfully and followed his friend back to the party. Then it was only Charlie, Alex, and a snoring Jessica in the room. 

“So. I guess I'll just-- go back to the party with the guys,” Charlie shifted awkwardly on his feet, shooting Alex an uncertain glance. “Unless you didn't mind me staying?”

Alex looked at Charlie, taking his time to really assess the younger boy's features. He didn't seem like he wanted to depart from Alex. His face, his eyes — his entire body language told Alex he'd very much prefer to stay. 

Alex didn't need to search much inside himself to realize he didn't want Charlie to leave either. 

“Stay,” he said, his voice coming out stronger than he planned. “It'll be good to have someone to talk to as I wait for Jess to wake up.”

Charlie's smile was bright in the poorly lit bedroom. The younger boy muttered an _okay, cool_ as he walked to the door and closed it, muffling the sounds from the party and showering the bedroom in darkness.

* * *

It took Jessica one full hour to at least move from the position Diego and Charlie had laid her on the bed. During this time, Alex had learned a lot about Charlie. And laughed a lot. And rolled his eyes a lot — albeit fondly, much to his surprise. Alex was thoroughly amazed at how the night turned out: not only he'd run into such a nice jock completely unexpectedly, but somehow proceeded to get stuck with him in a frat room for the foreseeable future. 

The funniest detail still laid in the fact Charlie wasn't even a college jock yet. He was a high school one. Part of Alex felt like this was a prank the universe was playing on him for bad-mouthing high school just a few days ago. The larger part of his brain, though, was thinking that maybe if the people who he'd gone to school with were anything like Charlie, then maybe his entire experience could have been different. And better. Alex was sure it would have been better. 

There was yet another part of his brain, growing more insistent as he slowly sobered up, that was keen on telling him he still was interested in kissing Charlie, yes. It wasn't a drunk, spur of the moment kind of thing. Charlie was currently sitting with his back against the wall opposite to where Jessica laid, where they had moved their conversation to not to disturb her. His profile was lit by the bedside lamp, making him look both scary and funny with his poorly applied makeup, and still Alex couldn't move his eyes away from him. And the more the young jock shared about himself — his life at school, and his hobbies (that included baking, for fuck's sake), and his aspirations for college — the more he talked, the more Alex talked back. He didn't think he'd ever talked that much about himself to a stranger before. 

So when Charlie unassumingly mentioned his preference for Halloween as the best holiday ever — a preference Alex shared, even if parties weren't exactly his to-go plan — well, when Charlie let Alex in on this charming, personal detail, Alex closed the distance between them and pressed his lips firmly against the Charlie's. He'd been entertaining this idea ever since they were sitting together on the stairs, and to be frank, Alex was surprised he'd managed to hold on this long before taking action. 

This was the tipsy part of him talking, of course. Slightly sober Alex pulled away as quickly as he realized what he was doing, an alarmed look on his face as he stared at Charlie.

Charlie's eyes were wide and surprised and fixed on Alex. They looked even bigger — and bluer — surrounded by the black paint that adorned his face. He seemed struck speechless, and Alex couldn't blame him. He was at a loss for words himself, and for a few seconds, they just stared at each other in astonishment, measuring each other's reaction to assess the better way to go from there. 

“I'm sorry,” Alex blurted out, eyes frantically calculating the distance to the door before he remembered that _shit,_ he couldn't just leave Jess there. “I didn't mean to make this awkw--”

Whatever poor excuse Alex intended to offer was muffled by Charlie's lips back on his, eager and searching and intent — and fuck, Alex could taste the black paint from his makeup but it just didn't matter. It didn't matter because Charlie, stone sober as he was, kissing him back, gave Alex the reassurance he needed that he hadn't read this entire night wrong. He'd felt this tense energy in the air between them ever since their eyes locked, right after he'd guessed Charlie's costume. Charlie's fucking costume. Leslie Vernon. The Man Behind the Mask had made this possible. A stupid mockumentary Alex watched for laughs was now being responsible for him getting to kiss this boy. 

The chuckle that bubbled out of his chest was unexpected for Charlie just as much as it was for him. Alex pushed a hand against the younger boy's chest and pulled away, riding out his laugh — Christ's sake, he really should've gone easy on that vodka earlier, shouldn't he.

Too late now, though. Charlie was looking at him bewildered as Alex leaned against the bed they sat next to, clutching his chest over his unicorn onesie in an attempt to reclaim his bearings. 

“What's so funny?” Charlie asked, frowning as he watched Alex sag against the bed ungracefully. 

“Sorry, it's not funny, really,” said Alex, doing his best to keep a straight face and failing miserably. He lifted one hand to wipe away the smeared make up at the corner of Charlie's lips. “I was just thinking about how we got here, and it's kinda hilarious if you think of it.”

“I'm not sure I'm following,” stated Charlie, still frowning, though less intensely than a few seconds ago. 

“We met because your friend thought your costume was so bizarre he bet on no one recognizing it,” started Alex, and he could tell he sounded more sober than he felt, “at a party I only came because I lost a bet to a friend of mine who's currently passed out a few feet away from us. And we're stuck with babysitting her until she sobers up. And we just kissed,” Alex giggled, one hand covering half of his face while he tried to sound composed, “after we spent most of the party talking about movies and Halloween and shit instead of dancing or whatever it is that people do at parties. We just-- we don't know how to fucking party, do we?”

“Or maybe we do,” suggested Charlie, “and everyone else has it wrong.” He half smiled, eyes focused on Alex's lips. Alex was vaguely debating with himself whether his haziness was due to his alcohol consumption or if it was from Charlie staring down at him like that. “Party or not, I've been wanting to kiss you ever since you guessed my costume on the spot, a few hours ago.”

“Are you serious?” Snorted Alex, amused despite himself. “Was that so important to you?”

“Well, yes. I put a lot of thought into this costume,” said Charlie defensively. “But it wasn't just that. Talking to you after-- it only made me want to do it more the longer we spent time together.”

“Why didn't you, then,” asked Alex, unconsciously leaning closer to Charlie as he waited for an answer. 

“You can be a very scary unicorn, I'll let you know,” stated the younger boy, peering down at Alex closely. “The whole night, I wasn't sure if you'd take well if I made a move on you. I didn't want to ruin the vibe, it seemed to be going really well.”

“It did, didn't it?” Mused Alex, eyes glued to Charlie in deep thinking. 

“ _It does,_ doesn't it?” Corrected Charlie, one hand moving just the slightest bit hesitant to play with the loose fabric that bunched around Alex's knee. 

Alex watched as Charlie's fingers playfully twitched around his stupid light blue onesie, asking for permission to go further. His mind seemed too slow to come up with a verbal answer but his body was quick to follow the lead. He pushed himself away from the bed, one knee draping around Charlie's legs to straddle him. His unicorn tiara fell stubbornly to his forehead and Alex pushed it back into place impatiently, peering down at Charlie with an interested look on his face. 

“It does,” he agreed, his voice dipping lower into a smooth tone Alex wasn't even consciously aware that he owned. “I'd like to know you better after tonight. But for now...”

“For now?” said Charlie, looking riveted, hands finding home on Alex's hips. He pressed Alex's leaner body into his own as he peered up into his eyes expectantly, and fuck, Alex was a goner for this boy. 

“Let's not think much about it,” suggested Alex, hands lifting to rest on Charlie's shoulders, fingers splaying over the rough fabric of his artistically torn shirt. “I mean, I'm the one only one who got your costume right, and apparently that makes you wanna rip my clothes off. I can get on board with that,” he said softly, leaning down to kiss Charlie's jaw, the press of his lips hot and long. “Or did I read this wrong?”

Alex heard a choking sound coming from Charlie's throat and almost laughed at his eagerness — _almost_ because he was too distracted by his own growing interest to get to mock anything coming from Charlie. “No, you got it damn right,” Charlie rasped, one hand lifting to Alex's hair, fingers twirling into his brown locks. Then he pulled on the soft strands gently, exposing the older boy's throat, the long column of his neck asking to be kissed and pleased. 

Alex let out an unexpected moan, legs pressing around Charlie's waist sending shivers down both their spines. His fucking tiara fell backward yet again and Alex grabbed at it impatiently and threw it aside before turning his gaze back on Charlie, eyes warm and wanting and maybe just a notch too eager but he wasn't about to apologize for that. 

“Okay, so just-- please don't tear anything off, I was joking on that one,” Alex said, only half-joking. “This was actually rented, so.”

“Oh, I would never,” answered Charlie with eyes wide. 

“Never?” Alex arched an eyebrow, amused. 

“Unless you wanted me to?” Tried Charlie, hands wavering around Alex's waist. “But you know-- your friend's sleeping just a few feet away from us anyway.”

Alex threw a glance at Jessica in the bed at the far corner and hummed before turning his attention back to Charlie. “Does that mean you'd be willing to tear this awful costume out of me if the circumstances were different?”

“Okay, I gotta ask,” intervened Charlie, looking equal parts concerned and amused. “Just how drunk are you?”

“I'm not _drunk_. Been sobering up for at least one hour now,” protested Alex. At Charlie's unimpressed look, Alex sighed, mulling the question in his head for about three seconds before adding. “Fine-- look, I'm cool and I know what I'm doing, but I'll admit there's probably some residual tipsiness playing into me being so forward, not gonna lie. I'm not usually like this-- well, at least not for the first time I'm hooking up with someone.”

“Yeah, I think I called this one,” said Charlie, now definitely amused. “You seemed pretty-- I don't know, shy, earlier today.”

“I'm not shy,” Alex rolled his eyes. “I just really hate parties.”

“Well,” said Charlie, a smile growing on his lips as he stared up at Alex. His hands traveled from Alex's hips to his waist, where they rested, warm and expectant and patient, all at the same time. “I do hope you're liking this one, at least.”

Alex grinned — really grinned, his joy too big for his face as he stared down at Charlie. The tips of his fingers slowly trailed up from the younger boy's shoulders to his neck, sending a shiver down Charlie's spine that Alex was able to feel in his own body with how close they were. “I am,” he murmured. “All things considered, I'm thinking Halloween frat parties are definitely not the worst.”

Alex punctuated his statement with a firm press of his lips to Charlie's. When he earned an enthusiastic hum and hands clasping tighter around his waist in response, he sank down further on Charlie's lips, deepening their kiss. 

The coherent part of his mind prayed Jessica to sleep off her tiredness and booze for some more time yet. Alex didn't plan on letting things go too far — even without Jess in the balance, he was wearing an onesie he didn't actually comprehend the science behind getting into, let alone out of — but that didn't mean he was welcoming any other distractions that weren't Charlie at that moment. He very much wasn't. He would like to keep wrapped up in this Halloween miracle as long as it lasted, and boy, did Alex hope it lasted for a while. 

As Charlie's hands eagerly grasped his thighs to pull him closer against his body, Alex thought it was safe to assume Charlie hoped the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, guys, I'm so sorry this update is so late. My hectic end-of-semester schedule by the time the Halloween Event was happening prevented me to bring more projects to life, and I was really upset about it for a while. It ended up bleeding into this story, and every time I set myself to update it, I found something different to dislike about it and gave up on it. I had it fully written from the start but I was so bummed I couldn't write all the things I had planned for Halloween that it dampened my excitement with the things I indeed had ready to publish. I'm sorry my own frustrations got in the way but finally, here we are. I really hope you guys liked the ending, and I thank you all for reading and for your patience <3


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